Eli Lilly (New York Stock Exchange:LLY) was in the spotlight on Monday after Deutsche Bank raised its rating on the stock to Buy from Hold, calling the drugmaker a “high-growth unicorn” following its second-quarter results that beat expectations and rose.
Indiana-based drugmaker increased annual budget perspective Above consensus, its weight loss products beat expectations. In addition to its GLP-1 agonists Mounjaro and Zepbound, indicated for diabetes and weight loss, breast cancer therapy Verzenio generated revenue growth, the company said.
In the update note, DB analyst James said the earnings beat expectations “helped calm some nerves in a volatile macro environment,” and that the stock is poised to beat expectations on the back of its “high-growth, low-beta outlook.”
Mounjaro sales outside the U.S. will create a significant new revenue base that will help drive and sustain outsized growth. Sales of the blockbuster drug reached $3.1 billion, up threefold from the year-ago quarter and exceeding the $2.4 billion forecast, according to Bloomberg data. Its recently launched sister drug, Zepbound, added $1.2 billion to top line compared with the $818.9 million forecast.
Shin expects competition to expand beyond Novo Nordisk (NVO), with ZEAL, VKTX, GPCR and Roche (OTCQX:RHHBY), whose oral GLP-1 candidate was identified as the biggest commercial threat.
Seeking Alpha's quantitative analysis rates the drugmaker as Hold.
